NRLF 


Pictorial  Landscape-Photography 


PAUL  LEWIS  ANDERSON 


fl  1  HHafffH 


PICTORIAL  LANDSCAPE-PHOTOGRAPHY 


i  I 


PLATE  I.— THE    PATH,   SUNLIT   SNOW 


Pictorial 
Landscape  -  Photography 


BY 

PAUL  LEWIS  ANDERSON 


ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  THE  AUTHOR 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

PHOTO-ERA,  THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY 

WILFRED  A.   FRENCH,   PUBLISHER 

1914 


COPYRIGHT,   1914 
BY   WILFRED   A.   FRENCH 


All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of  translation  into  foreign  languages 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Part      I    THE  SUBJECTIVE  SIDE 7 

Part    II     SUBJECTIVE  TECHNIQUE 20 

Part  III    TECHNICAL  METHODS 37 


3O5220 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

I  THE  PATH,  SUNLIT  SNOW Frontispiece 

II  THE  LAKE,  EVENING Facing  Page  8 

III  THE  LAKE  OF  TWINKLING  LIGHTS 12 

IV  A   CONNECTICUT-ROAD 14 

V  THE  LAKE  IN  THE  PARK 17 

VI  THE  ORCHARD 20 

VII  THE  PATH 23 

VIII  THE  PATH,  SNOW 26 

IX  THE  BROOK,  EVENING  SUNLIGHT 29 

X  A   COUNTRY-ROAD,   TWILIGHT 32 

XI  THE  HILLSIDE 37 

XII  SNOW 38 

XIII  THE  LONELY  TREE 43 

XIV  THE  POOL,  SNOW            44 


Part  I—  The  Subjective  Side 

SO  many  technical  articles  of  the  highest  quality  have  ap- 
peared in  photographic  magazines,  and  there  are  so  many 
textbooks  giving  formulae,  that  it  would  seem  superfluous 
to  treat  of  such  matters  extensively  in  the  present  volume, 
even  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  writer  believes  the  subjective 
qualities  to  be  a  much  rarer  possession  than  technical  skill.  There- 
fore, this  essay  has  been  written  more  with  a  view  to  point  out  a 
method  of  approaching  the  cultivation  of  artistic  vision  than  with 
the  idea  of  furnishing  a  technical  reference-book,  particularly  as 
technique  cannot  be  taught  any  more  than  can  any  other  subject. 
In  the  last  analysis,  all  acquired  knowledge  must  come  from  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  student,  the  most  that  the  teacher  can  do  being 
to  indicate  the  direction  which  the  studies  should  take.  There- 
fore, in  the  following  pages  technique  will  be  treated  more  sug- 
gestively than  didactically,  the  more  so  as  the  writer  believes  the 
best  technique  to  be  the  simplest  that  will  permit  the  worker  to 
express  himself,  any  addition  being  a  hindrance  rather  than  a 
help.  This  is  not  to  say  that  any  one  should  confine  himself  to 
ordinary  or  even  to  orthochromatic  plates,  or  that  he  should 
make  all  his  prints  in  platinum  —  this  is  not  to  simplify  technique, 
but  to  throw  away  the  advantages  offered  by  panchromatic  plates 
and  by  such  superior  printing-mediums  as  carbon  and  gum  —  but 
the  fact  remains  that  if  such  methods  will  invariably  do  all  that 
the  artist  wishes  them  to  do  it  is  foolish  to  carry  technical  studies 
any  further,  the  technique  of  photography  being  so  extensive  and 
so  complicated  —  far  more  so  than  that  of  painting  —  that  no 
one  can  hope  to  know  all  of  it.  Furthermore,  a  man  may  be  a 
great  artist  without  being  a  great  technician,  provided  he  has 
something  to  express;  but  the  finest  technique  will  leave  us  cold 
if  it  expresses  no  spiritual  quality.  In  short,  technique  may  be 


regarded  as  a  tool,  and  it  is  as  foolish  for  a  man  to  refine  it  beyond 
his  needs  as  it  would  be  for  a  machinist  to  insist  on  using  the  tools 
of  a  watchmaker,  whereas  the  watchmaker  could  not  work  suc- 
cessfully with  the  coarser  appliances. 

It  is  astonishing  how  readily  one  who  is  endeavoring  to  express 
himself  becomes  a  good  technician,  often  without  conscious  effort 
in  that  direction.  He  works  day  after  day,  striving  to  say  what 
he  wishes,  with  repeated  failures  and  discouragements,  and  finally 
discovers  that  his  efforts  have  resulted  in  the  development  of  a 
degree  of  technical  skill  which,  a  few  years  before,  seemed  to  him 
unattainable,  and  this  consideration,  perhaps,  may  serve  to  en- 
courage some  who  find  their  knowledge  insufficient  for  the  ideals 
which  they  entertain. 

No  specific  discussion  of  the  accompanying  illustrations  will 
be  undertaken,  for  three  reasons.  First,  the  necessary  limitations 
are  such  that  a  moderately  complete  examination  of  the  individual 
pictures  would  occupy  an  unduly  large  proportion  of  the  space 
available.  Second,  it  is  very  difficult  —  almost  impossible  —  for 
one  to  analyze  his  own  pictures.  Third,  more  benefit  will  result  if 
the  principles  of  construction  are  stated  and  the  student  is  left  to 
make  his  own  application  of  them,  than  if  their  relation  to  finished 
works  is  pointed  out  for  him  to  see  without  effort. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  a  photograph  loses 
at  both  ends  of  the  scale  when  reproduced  in  halftone,  particularly 
if  either  pure  white  or  deep  black  be  included,  and  this  loss  is 
inherent  in  the  process,  and  is  not  to  be  avoided,  no  matter  what 
care  be  taken  with  the  reproduction,  so  that  the  accompanying 
reproductions  are  not  necessarily  correct  in  their  rendering  of  the 
tonal  relationships  of  the  originals. 

It  will  be  assumed  throughout  that  the  reader  is  not  interested 
in  producing  simple  records  of  fact,  but  wishes  to  do  work  that 
will  be  entitled  to  be  called  art,  and  it  may  be  well  first  to  con- 
sider wherein  lies  the  difference.  A  record-photograph,  as  the 
name  implies,  is  a  transcript  of  some  scene,  without  the  photog- 
rapher's having  exercised  any  control  over  the  result;  but  the 

[8] 


moment  an  effort  is  made  to  express  any  feeling  or  emotion 
the  product  becomes  in  greater  or  less  degree  a  work  of  art.  The 
first  and  simplest  form  is  that  in  which  the  worker  has  felt  the 
beauty  of  the  scene  and  has  attempted  to  preserve  it  in  order  that 
it  may  give  pleasure  to  himself  or  to  others,  and  the  next  stage  in 
the  development  of  the  artist  comes  when  he  feels  that  this  pleasure 
might  be  increased  if  he  modified  the  result,  whether  by  a  change 
in  the  viewpoint,  by  choosing  a  different  time  of  day  or  different 
atmospheric  conditions,  or  by  working  on  either  negative  or  print. 
The  prints  made  during  the  first  stage  are  seldom  to  be  differen- 
tiated from  the  mere  record,  and  in  most  cases  the  dividing-line 
between  the  two  states  of  mind  is  not  perceived  even  by  the  worker 
himself.  Then  comes  the  stage  in  which  the  photographer  is 
inspired  by  the  wish  to  express  some  abstract  emotion,  so  that 
others  may  feel  what  he  felt  when  looking  at  the  scene,  and  in  the 
final  stage  he  endeavors  to  express  an  emotion,  though  he  may 
not  have  observed  any  particular  landscape  which  aroused  it  in 
him.  So  it  will  be  seen  that  almost  anything  more  than  the  merest 
record  can  fairly  be  called  art,  its  value  depending  on  the  skill 
with  which  the  artist  has  caused  others  to  feel  the  emotions  which 
he  wanted  to  express. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  manner  in  which  a  landscape,  or  a  pic- 
ture of  one,  can  arouse  an  abstract  emotion  may  not  be  out  of 
place,  though  a  complete  discussion  of  this  fact  would  occupy 
too  much  space.  In  the  first  place,  all  our  emotions  are  the  result 
of  memories,  whether  of  occurrences  that  have  taken  place  in  the 
life  of  the  individual  —  and  may  perhaps  have  been  forgotten  by 
the  conscious  memory  —  or  of  occurrences  that  have  influenced 
the  development  of  the  race.  As  instances  of  the  latter  type  we 
may  give  the  fear  of  the  dark,  fear  of  reptiles,  and  the  curious  fear 
that  some  persons  entertain  of  cats.  Often  these  fears  are  the 
direct  result  of  the  education  of  the  individual,  but  frequently 
they  cannot  be  traced  to  any  such  source,  and  we  are  forced  to 
conclude  that  they  are  the  result  of  atavistic  memories,  persisting 
in  the  race  through  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  from  the 

[9] 


time  when  all  these  objects  of  fear  were  perils  to  the  race.  Our 
pleasurable  emotions  may  be  referred  to  a  similar  source,  and, 
since  the  mind  operates  largely  through  association,  it  will  be 
seen  that  a  picture  which  brings  to  mind  —  whether  to  the  con- 
scious mind  or  not  —  a  memory  of  any  sort,  will  arouse  some 
emotion  corresponding  to  the  image  called  up.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  racial  memories  and  those  which  are  not  of  the  conscious 
type  are  more  powerful  than  those  which  are  associated  with  some 
definitely  remembered  scene  or  occurrence. 

The  sentiments  which  may  be  aroused  by  a  landscape-photo- 
graph are  numerous,  joy,  horror,  sadness,  calm,  peace,  and  others 
being  expressible  by  pure  landscape,  whereas  the  introduction  of 
figures  or  of  some  suggestion  of  life  affords  the  possibility  to  ex- 
press still  more,  such  as  sympathy  or  love,  though  here  we  begin 
to  approach  the  realm  of  genre.  It  seems  to  be  generally  the 
case  that  the  deeper  emotions  are  the  quieter  ones,  and  the  worker 
•  who  wishes  to  produce  the  greatest  possible  effect  will  usually 
make  a  greater  effort  to  arouse  these  than  to  appeal  to  the  lighter 
ones,  such  as  joy  or  amusement.  However,  strict  adherence  to 
this  plan  will  produce  monotony  of  results  and,  unless  the  photog- 
rapher makes  only  a  few  prints  in  the  course  of  a  year,  will  quickly 
cause  him  to  repeat  himself.  The  writer  feels  it  to  be  a  mistake 
for  an  artist  to  specialize,  as  an  occasional  excursion  into  por- 
traiture by  a  landscape-worker,  or  into  genre  by  a  portraitist, 
will  result  in  a  fresher  viewpoint  when  the  artist  returns  to  his 
own  field.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  greatest  artists  have 
never  confined  themselves  to  their  specialties,  some  of  Rembrandt's 
finest  work  having  been  in  landscape  or  still-life,  while  Velasquez 
did  genre  as  well  as  portraiture,  and  the  same  is  true  of  others. 
It  may  also  be  well  to  note  that  under-production  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  over-production,  for,  while  the  former  means  only  less 
technical  facility  than  would  otherwise  be  possessed,  the  latter 
means  that  the  worker  is  putting  out  pictures  that  have  not  been 
carefully  considered,  and  this  results,  not  only  in  immediate 
inferiority,  but  in  a  lowering  of  the  worker's  standard. 

[10] 


Since  we  have  found  that  the  fundamental  purpose  of  the 
landscape-photographer  is  to  arouse  in  the  spectator  some  emo- 
tion, we  may  now  take  up  the  consideration  of  how  this  is  to  be 
accomplished,  and,  as  indicated  above,  there  are  two  ways  to 
approach  the  problem,  with  perhaps  a  third.  In  the  first  method 
the  photographer  takes  his  camera  and  walks  about  the  country 
until  he  finds  some  scene  which,  by  association  with  past  experi- 
ences, either  individual  or  racial,  arouses  in  him  an  emotion,  when 
he  photographs  it,  and,  either  by  the  medium  of  a  straight  print, 
or  after  manipulating  either  negative  or  print,  or  both,  succeeds 
in  conveying  to  others  the  sentiment  which  he  felt.  In  the  second 
method  the  photographer  decides  to  attempt  the  expression  of 
some  emotion,  and  goes  to  some  spot  which  he  remembers  from 
previous  walks,  or  else  takes  his  camera  and  walks  about  the 
country  until  he  finds  something  which  seems  a  suitable  arrange- 
ment, the  subsequent  procedure  being  the  same  as  in  the  former 
case.  It  is  not  meant  that  the  worker  have  a  definite  idea  that  he 
is  going  to  try  to  arouse  some  emotion;  the  mental  attitude  is 
almost  always  unconscious,  and  when  this  is  not  so  the  result  is 
likely  to  be  unsuccessful;  but  the  photographer  has  an  undefined 
feeling  of  some  sort  which  impels  him  to  try  for  a  certain  kind  of 
picture,  this  feeling  being,  as  a  rule,  the  effect  of  either  the  weather 
or  the  state  of  his  digestion.  The  third  method  is  hardly  to  be 
considered  a  definite  means  of  approaching  the  problem,  as  it  con- 
sists in  photographing  anything  which  conforms  to  certain  rather 
elastic  rules  of  composition,  and  working  on  the  negative  and 
print  until  something  resembling  a  picture  is  obtained.  The 
second  method  is  the  best,  and  is  most  likely  to  result  in  work  of 
a  high  type,  though  the  first  is  the  one  most  usually  employed. 
The  third  is  chiefly  adopted  by  those  photographers  who  pride 
themselves  on  the  possession  of  "temperament,"  and  it  is  char- 
acteristic of  this  class  that  they  are  the  largest  producers  of  "deco- 
rative studies."  Incidentally,  it  may  be  remarked  that  all  art  is 
"decorative,"  even  in  its  applied  forms,  and  that,  while  it  is  not 
only  perfectly  proper  but  also  necessary  to  make  studies,  these 


should  not  be  exhibited,  the  person  who  entitles  an  exhibition- 
picture  "Study"  simply  advertising  either  his  own  affectation  or 
his  paucity  of  imagination.  Many  prints  and  many  paintings 
are  shown  which  have  no  reason  to  exist  except  that  they  are 
pleasing  arrangements  of  line  and  tone,  and,  though  some  of  them 
are  undeniably  beautiful  and  for  that  reason  are  valuable  additions 
to  our  store  of  desirable  pictures,  possessing  the  merit  which 
attaches  to  everything  that  makes  life  happier,  the  writer  feels 
that  they  do  not  represent  the  highest  development  of  which 
photography  is  capable.  The  Venus  de  Medici  is  beautiful,  but 
is  far  inferior  to  the  Venus  de  Milo,  which,  by  the  way,  is  not  a 
Venus  but  a  Victory.  In  other  words,  the  highest  form  of  art  is 
that  which  is  not  merely  pleasing  but  is  also  stimulating. 

There  are  certain  elements  which  are  requisite  in  the  construc- 
tion of  a  picture,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  vigor.  With  this 
present  much  may  be  forgiven  in  the  way  of  technical  deficiencies, 
but  without  it  nothing  of  enduring  value  can  be  attained,  though 
this  is  by  no  means  to  deny  the  worth  of  delicate  prints  in  either 
a  high  or  a  low  key.  Such  pictures  easily  may  have  more  strength 
than  the  bolder,  full-scale  work  of  less  thoughtful  workers,  for 
the  finest  strength  is  that  which  is  controlled. 

Next  to  vigor  in  order  of  importance  is  unity.  Birge  Harrison 
has  said  that  there  is  only  one  rule  in  art:  "Thou  shalt  not  paint 
two  pictures  on  one  canvas,"  and  this  is  simply  another  way  of 
saying  that  unity  must  always  obtain.  The  purpose  of  the  pic- 
ture, the  subject,  and  the  method  of  treatment  having  been  de- 
termined, care  must  be  taken  to  see  that  nothing  is  allowed  to 
enter  that  might  detract  from  the  effect.  This  does  not  mean 
that  there  must  be  no  contrasts  —  contrast  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  instruments  that  the  artist  has  to  work  with,  but  merely 
that  the  contrasts  must  not  be  excessive  and  that  no  incongruities 
should  be  included.  The  amount  of  incongruity  which  may 
be  included  without  injuring  the  effect  depends  on  the  observer, 
and  an  illustration  will  serve  to  make  this  clear.  The  writer 
has  seen  in  the  show-case  of  a  professional  photographer  a 

[12] 


PLATE  III.  — THE   LAKE  OF  TWINKLING  LIGHTS 


portrait  of  a  girl  posed  in  front  of  a  window.  A  brief  glance  was 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  window  was  not  a  real  one,  but  one  of 
the  painted  backgrounds  sold  in  the  stockhouses,  and  there  was 
no  suggestion  of  light  behind  the  figure,  which  was  illuminated 
at  the  conventional  angle  of  45  degrees.  Here,  then,  was  a  viola- 
tion of  unity  which  was  apparent  instantly  to  the  writer,  but  was 
not  apparent  to  the  photographer,  and  similar  instances  might  be 
cited.  (Of  course,  it  may  be  that  the  photographer  was  merely 
indifferent  to  the  fault  mentioned,  but  this  does  not  seem  prob- 
able.) Therefore,  the  photographer  should  cultivate  his  sensitive- 
ness and  his  powers  of  observation,  or  he  may  be  betrayed  into 
incongruities  which  will  offend  the  more  highly  trained  observer. 

The  quality  next  in  importance  which  a  picture  must  have  is 
reserve.  The  picture  which  tells  the  whole  story,  leaving  nothing 
to  the  imagination  of  the  spectator,  soon  becomes  tiresome,  and, 
while  no  essential  should  be  omitted,  nothing  which  does  not  aid 
the  effect  should  be  included,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  observer  should  be  stimulated.  More  pleasure  is  found 
in  a  picture  as  well  as  in  a  story,  if  the  spectator  or  reader  does 
part  of  the  work,  and  the  more  he  does  the  better  pleased  he  will 
be.  Some  aid  must  be  given  him,  of  course,  or  a  blank  sheet  of 
paper  would  be  the  finest  picture  possible;  but,  other  things  being 
equal,  the  picture  which  leaves  most  unsaid  is  the  best. 

Here,  then,  we  have  two  qualities  closely  related  —  mystery  and 
suggestion.  An  example  will  illustrate  the  two,  so  we  will  suppose 
that  we  are  standing  in  an  open  field  in  the  early  morning,  before 
the  sky  has  begun  to  lighten,  and  that  between  us  and  the  eastern 
horizon  is  a  row  of  heavy  trees  a  hundred  yards  or  so  away.  We 
can  see  no  details  anywhere  —  the  trees  are  visible  only  in  outline 
against  a  deep  blue  sky,  and  the  field  between  us  and  them  can  be 
distinguished  only  as  a  space  a  trifle  lighter  in  value  than  the 
intense  black  of  the  foliage.  Here,  then,  we  have  mystery,  for 
the  dark  shadows  might  conceal  anything,  a  gipsy  caravan,  a  herd 
of  cattle,  the  outposts  of  an  army,  or  an  automobile-camp,  and  it 
depends  on  our  imagination  to  people  those  shadows  with  any- 

[13] 


thing  we  may  wish.  Gradually  the  sky  begins  to  lighten  and  we 
can  see  faint  patches  of  a  lighter  value  in  the  dark  mass  of  the 
trees.  Here  suggestion  comes  into  play,  for  one  patch  may  have 
what  seems  to  us  the  shape  of  a  cow  lying  down,  and  we  look  until 
we  fancy  that  we  can  see  the  whole  animal,  as  the  figures  are  seen 
in  those  clever  drawings  on  magazine-covers,  where  a  portion  of 
the  outline  is  shown  and  the  rest  left  for  the  observer  to  fill  in  for 
himself.  Another  patch  has  a  different  shape,  and  we  think  it  a 
horse,  and  so  on.  The  sky  lightens  still  more,  and  we  see  other 
shapes,  and  now  we  can  perceive  that  what  we  took  for  a  cow  is 
in  reality  a  wheelbarrow,  while  the  horse  is  a  pile  of  hay.  Sug- 
gestion, however,  may  still  be  at  work  in  other  portions  of  the 
scene,  though  our  illusions  concerning  parts  of  it  have  been  dis- 
pelled ;  but  as  the  light  increases,  one  thing  after  another  is  shown, 
until  with  broad  day  there  is  no  more  reserve,  and  everything 
stands  out  in  distinct  outlines. 

So  we  find  that  reserve  includes  mystery  and  suggestion,  and 
that  we  can  have  the  former  without  the  latter;  but  it  may  be 
added  that  the  imagination  of  the  average  person  is  not  active 
enough  to  let  him  see  anything  in  a  pure,  ungraded  shadow,  so 
that  it  is  usually  necessary  to  introduce  some  light  as  a  stimulant 
to  his  imaginative  powers.  Suggestion  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  inclusion  of  undefined  spots  of  light  or  dark,  but  may  take 
many  other  forms,  as,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  a  body  shown  in 
motion  with  no  visible  cause  of  its  motion,  when  the  imagination 
of  the  spectator  immediately  suggests  an  explanation.  If  a 
golfer  be  shown  at  the  end  of  the  swing,  the  eye  follows  along  the 
probable  line  of  flight  of  the  ball  which  is  supposed  to  have  left 
the  club,  or  if  an  object  be  shown  suspended  in  the  air  the  specta- 
tor looks  to  see  who  has  thrown  it.  Another  illustration  is  in  the 
case  of  a  road  leading  over  a  hill,  where  we  have  a  definite  line 
leading  to  an  invisible  point,  and  the  spectator  follows  the  line 
visually  until  it  disappears,  then  continues  to  do  so  mentally. 
The  arrangement  of  lines  in  a  picture  also  has  a  powerful  sugges- 
tive quality,  horizontal  lines  suggesting  calm  and  quiet,  vertical 


lines  strength  and  dignity,  diagonal  ones  motion,  and  sinuous 
ones  motion  combined  with  grace.  The  effect  of  various  kinds  of 
line  will,  however,  be  more  fully  discussed  when  we  consider 
composition. 

The  emotions  which  can  be  aroused  by  a  landscape  may  be 
divided  into  two  broad  classes,  the  lively  and  the  quiet.  Of  the 
former  the  chief  is  that  of  joy,  whether  rejoicing  at  some  definite 
thing,  such  as  light  or  warmth,  or  the  simple  joy  of  living.  In 
the  latter  class  we  find  calm,  sadness,  wonder,  and  reverence  as 
the  principal  ones,  the  last-named  being  too  big  for  the  photogra- 
pher, and  being  usually  beyond  even  the  painter,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  failure  of  most  of  the  attempts  to  present  satisfactorily 
the  Grand  Canon  on  canvas.  It  is  impossible  to  give  any  rules 
for  the  expression  of  these  emotions  through  the  medium  of  a 
picture,  for  art  which  is  made  by  rule  invariably  fails  of  its  purpose, 
but  we  can  state  a  few  principles  which  are  of  assistance  to  the 
artist,  whether  photographer  or  painter. 

In  the  first  place,  joy  is  usually  associated  in  our  minds  with 
two  factors  —  light  and  expansiveness.  We  see  the  latter  quality 
in  the  motions  of  a  person  who  is  happy,  the  chest  being  thrown 
forward,  the  head  raised  and  the  arms  spread  abroad,  and  a  general 
air  of  buoyancy  prevailing,  in  contradistinction  to  the  contracted 
motions  of  one  who  is  suffering,  either  mentally  or  physically, 
the  latter  state  resulting  in  depression  of  the  body,  tenseness  of 
the  muscles  and  lowering  of  the  head,  in  sharp  contrast  to  the 
manifestations  of  happiness.  These  facts  suggest  at  once  that 
joy  is  to  be  expressed  in  rounded  forms,  the  swelling  of  hills,  trees 
in  full  foliage  and  cumulous  clouds,  whereas  sadness  is  best 
indicated  by  lines  of  drooping,  angular  character,  preferably  con- 
verging towards  the  center  of  the  picture.  The  mention  of  full- 
foliaged  trees  and  cumulous  clouds  suggests  that  pictures  expressive 
of  joy  usually  are  to  be  made  in  the  spring  or  summer,  whereas 
those  which  convey  an  emotion  of  sadness  most  often  are  to  be 
found  in  the  autumn  or  winter,  and  this  is  in  fact  the  case,  another 
factor  entering  strongly  into  the  question  in  the  shape  of  a  feeling 

[15] 


—  resulting  from  thousands  of  years  of  false  training  —  to  the 
effect  that  decay  and  death  are  not  merely  natural  phenomena, 
but  are  definite  visitations  from  a  higher  power,  and  are  to  be 
deplored.     This  feeling  is  so  strong  that  only  the  greatest  minds 
are  free  from  it,  even  though  reason  tells  us  that  it  is  an  erroneous 
one,  and,  since  emotions  are  stimulated  by  the  sight  of  phenomena 
associated  with  past  experiences,  and  since  autumn  and  winter 
are  the  seasons  of  decay  and  death  —  even  though  only  temporary 

—  this  association  aids  in  the  expression  of  the  emotions  founded 
on  the  absence  of  buoyant,  expanded  forms. 

It  has  been  noted  that  joy  is  associated  not  only  with  expan- 
siveness,  but  with  light,  this"  fact  being  doubtless  a  psychological 
condition  remaining  from  the  days  before  artificial  light  was  in- 
vented, when  night,  the  time  of  darkness,  was  made  terrible  by 
nocturnal  beasts  of  prey.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  fact  remains 
that  light  is  associated  in  our  minds  with  happiness,  darkness 
being  a  concomitant  of  sadness,  whence  it  follows  that  a  high- 
keyed  picture,  filled  with  the  feeling  of  sunlight,  will  be  more 
likely  to  give  an  impression  of  joy  than  a  low-keyed,  gloomy  one. 
Incidentally,  the  next  to  the  last  word  in  the  preceding  sentence 
illustrates  the  fact  that  has  just  been  indicated,  for  to  most  per- 
sons the  word  "gloom"  connotes  sadness,  whereas  the  true  meaning 
is  merely  "  darkness."  The  key  of  a  print  is  a  matter  of  technique  ; 
but  one  cannot  introduce  the  feeling  of  direct  sunlight  into  a 
picture  if  it  did  not  exist  in  the  original  subject,  and  direct  sun- 
light is  more  often  to  be  found  in  summer  than  in  winter,  when 
the  days  are  short,  and  even  in  the  middle  of  the  day  the  light  is 
only  about  three-fourths  as  strong  —  this  applies  to  the  latitude 
of  New  York  —  as  in  the  warmer  season.  To  be  sure,  many 
bright,  joyous  pictures  may  be  made  in  winter,  if  a  sunny  day  is 
chosen  when  there  is  snow  on  the  ground ;  but  in  general,  it  will 
be  found  easier  to  do  such  work  in  spring  or  summer,  reserving 
the  colder  weather  for  the  expression  of  the  quieter  emotions. 

Turning  now  to  an  analysis  of  the  emotions  of  calm  and  peace, 
we  find  that,  although  they  are  among  the  quieter  ones,  there  is 

[16] 


no  association  of  sadness,  but  rather  of  a  restrained  happiness, 
and  we  would  expect  to  find  them  expressed  best  by  a  combination 
of  the  qualities  required  for  the  conveying  of  joy  and  sadness, 
and  this  is,  in  fact,  the  case,  for,  although  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  the  desired  impression  by  means  of  angular,  contracted  lines 
in  a  high  key,  it  is  possible,  and  almost  necessary,  to  employ 
rounded  lines  in  a  low  key  for  the  purpose.  Therefore,  such 
pictures  are  better  made  in  spring  or  summer,  choosing  —  or 
simulating  —  a  time  of  day  when  the  light  is  dull.  Care  must 
be  taken,  however,  that  if  the  dull  light  is  imitated  by  technical 
procedure,  clouds  and  shadows  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
middle  of  the  day  are  not  introduced,  this  fault,  which  is  by  no 
means  uncommon,  being  a  very  unpleasant  violation  of  unity. 

Wonder  is  not  a  very  deep  emotion,  so  is  not  of  great  value  to 
the  artist,  but  may  be  expressed  by  a  scene  which  is  outside  of 
our  every-day  experience,  taking  care  not  to  make  it  too  bizarre, 
else  the  emotion  aroused  will  be  merely  one  of  amusement;  and 
reverence,  as  pointed  out,  requires  a  larger  picture  than  photo- 
graphic technique  permits,  though  it  may  be  noted  that  when  the 
expression  of  an  emotion  is  aimed  at,  the  print  should  always  be 
as  large  as  the  technique  chosen  will  allow,  for,  although  a  small 
picture  may  be  as  esthetic,  and  as  pleasing  in  line  and  tone  as  a 
larger  one,  the  larger  is  to  be  preferred  when  it  is  a  question  of 
subject.  This  is  due,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  area  compre- 
hended by  the  eye  is  so  large  that  it  is  impossible  to  concentrate 
the  vision  on  a  small  space,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  objects,  whereas 
at  the  same  time,  the  size  of  objects  in  the  smaller  picture  is  so  far 
removed  from  that  which  we  know  to  be  true  that  it  fails  to  con- 
vince us.  If  enlarging  from  small  negatives,  however,  there  is  a 
danger  that  faults  in  composition,  whether  of  line  or  of  tone  — 
which  were  not  apparent  in  the  small  original  —  will  become 
noticeable,  and  this  fact  has  led  some  writers  to  suggest  limits  of 
enlargement.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  the  original  is  well  composed 
it  may  be  enlarged  to  almost  any  dimensions  without  loss  of  quality, 
for  the  grain  of  the  image,  which  becomes  apparent  on  enlarging 

[17] 


more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  diameters,  is  compensated  by  the 
fact  that  a  large  print  is  usually  examined  from  a  much  greater 
distance  than  a  small  one. 

One  more  quality  remains  to  be  considered  before  we  pass  on 
to  the  subject  of  composition,  and  that  is  indicated  in  a  remark 
once  made  to  the  writer  by  W.  D.  MacColl,  to  the  effect  that 
all  art,  to  be  of  any  value,  must  contain  an  element  of  surprise. 
At  first  sight  this  may  appear  to  be  a  mistake,  and  at  variance  with 
the  principle  of  reserve,  but  on  consideration  it  will  be  found  that 
such  is  not  the  case.  The  element  of  surprise  may  consist  of  any 
unexpected  incident,  even  so  slight  as  the  sudden  change  in  direc- 
tion of  a  line  having  its  effect,  though  this  is  more  of  a  structural 
quality.  The  point,  however,  is  that  there  must  be  something  in 
the  picture  which  would  not  be  expected  from  the  rest  of  it,  thus 
affording  the  spectator  a  slight  shock.  If  the  shock  is  too  great 
the  result  will  be  unpleasant,  but  without  any  it  will  be  merely 
pretty,  and  such  pictures  have  no  lasting  value. 

The  introduction  of  figures  into  landscape-work  increases  the 
number  of  emotions  that  may  be  expressed,  adding  fear,  despair, 
love,  and  others,  and  at  the  same  time  facilitating  the  expression 
of  those  that  can  be  conveyed  by  pure  landscape;  for  if  a  figure 
expresses,  by  its  attitude,  any  emotion,  the  influence  on  the  specta- 
tor may  be  considerable.  Of  course,  this  involves  additional 
care,  and  it  is  desirable  that  there  be  a  marked  degree  of  sympathy 
between  the  photographer  and  his  model,  as  the  work  of  the 
former  is  thereby  made  much  easier.  For  this  reason  it  is  well  to 
select  some  friend  who  is  interested  in  the  work  and  persuade  him 
or  her  to  pose,  rather  than  to  rely  on  the  professional  model,  whose 
interest  is  generally  confined  to  the  financial  reward.  If  working 
with  a  figure-model  the  difficulties  are  greatly  increased,  as  it  is 
then  almost  always  necessary  to  depend  on  the  professional,  and, 
though  failure  in  the  use  of  draped  figures  may  result  in  mere 
inadequacy  of  expression,  failure  with  a  nude  figure  becomes 
positively  offensive.  It  is  necessary  to  introduce  mystery  to  a 
great  degree  when  using  a  figure-model,  or  the  spectator  will  be 

[18] 


inclined  to  inquire  into  the  identity  of  the  model,  and  will  lose 
sight  of  the  qualities  which  the  picture  is  intended  to  possess,  the 
result  being  that  he  will  receive  merely  the  impression  of  an  un- 
dressed person  outdoors..  It  is  very  difficult  to  avoid  the  presence 
of  some  suggestiveness  —  which  is  different  from  suggestion  — 
in  work  of  this  class,  and  much  study  should  be  given  to  the  work 
of  other  photographers  as  well  as  of  painters  before  making  any 
attempt  whatever. 

A  great  writer  on  art  once  said  that  no  picture  could  be  truly 
great  unless  it  included  some  suggestion  of  humanity,  in  the  form 
either  of  a  figure  or  of  some  work  of  man.  This  statement,  how- 
ever, seems  to  be  an  exaggeration,  and  largely  an  expression  of 
personal  feeling  rather  than  of  opinion,  the  fact  being  that  for 
some  observers  such  a  suggestion  is  necessary  to  the  fullest  arous- 
ing of  the  emotions,  whereas,  for  others,  pure  landscape  may  be 
equally  impressive.  Therefore,  the  worker  is  advised  to  introduce 
figures  only  if  he  himself  feels  the  need  of  them,  and  to  have 
confidence  that  he  may  reach  the  highest  possible  expression, 
even  without  such  an  addition. 


[19] 


Part  II— Subjective  Technique 

Composition  —  Values  —  Definition  —  Detail 

TO  the  person  who  wishes  to  analyze  pictures,  whether 
with  a  view  to  make  them  or  merely  to  cultivate  his 
appreciation,  no  better  advice  can  be  given  than  that 
he  procure  a  copy  of  "Pictorial  Composition,"  by 
Henry  R.  Poore,  and  study  it;  for  in  this  book  the  structure  of 
pictures  is  reduced  to  certain  principles  —  the  author  realizes 
perfectly  the  impossibility  of  giving  rules  for  producing  works  of 
art  —  and  these  fundamental  principles  are  discussed  in  a  manner 
that  is  at  once  clear  and  complete.  It  is  not  advised  that  the 
student  read  this  book  once  or  even  twice,  for  such  a  course  will 
almost  inevitably  result  in  his  going  out  and  trying  to  construct 
pictures  on  the  same  lines  as  the  examples  given,  and  the  effect 
will  be  stilted  and  without  value;  but  if  the  book  be  read  re- 
peatedly, with  attention  to  the  more  important  passages,  the 
principles  given  will  become  second  nature,  and  will  be  applied 
without  conscious  thought,  often  without  the  worker  realizing 
what  has  taken  place.  There  are  many  other  books  on  composi- 
tion, conspicuous  among  them  being  the  work  of  Professor  Arthur 
W.  Dow.  Professor  Dow's  book,  however,  is  written  entirely 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  synthetic  worker,  whereas  Mr.  Poore's 
approaches  the  subject  analytically  as  well,  so  that,  while  the 
former  is  of  value  to  the  painter  or  designer,  whose  function  is  to 
construct  patterns,  starting  from  empty  spaces,  the  latter  is  of 
more  use  to  the  photographer  —  and  especially  to  the  landscape- 
photographer  —  whose  work  depends  on  the  seeing  and  abstrac- 
tion of  patterns  from  among  the  multitudes  furnished  by  nature. 
Incidentally,  it  might  be  remarked  that  synthetic  work  generally  is 
considered  to  require  a  higher  type  of  mind  or  a  more  vivid  imagi- 
nation than  analytic;  but  the  writer  does  not  feel  this  to  be  the 

[20] 


PLATE  VI.  — THE  ORCHARD 


case.  One  type  of  mind  cannot  be  considered  higher  than  the 
other,  any  more  than  the  scientist  can  be  considered  superior  to 
the  artist,  or  vice  versa;  they  are  simply  different,  both  being 
equally  necessary. 

When  the  worker  has  determined  what  idea  or  emotion  he 
wishes  to  express,  and  has  found  a  scene  which,  either  through 
the  medium  of  a  direct  photograph  or  by  means  of  manipulation, 
may  be  made  to  fulfil  his  desire,  it  becomes  necessary  to  consider 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  presented  by  photographic  means, 
and,  leaving  out  of  the  question  for  the  time  being  the  more  truly 
subjective  qualities,  we  will  first  take  up  the  structure,  for  with- 
out good  composition  the  probability  of  successful  expression  is 
much  diminished. 

The  need  of  composition  may  be  understood  readily  when  we 
realize  that  to  convey  an  idea  it  is  generally  necessary  to  have 
some  principal  object  to  which  all  else  in  the  picture  shall  be 
subordinate,  this  principal  object  being  the  one  which  is  most 
powerful  in  conveying  the  fundamental  idea.  Since,  however, 
one  object,  if  isolated,  is  rarely  able  fully  to  express  an  abstract 
idea  —  as  is  shown  by  the  literal  quality  of  a  vignetted  portrait 

—  it  becomes   necessary  to   introduce   additional   detail,   which, 
without  competing  for  interest  with  the  principal  object,  either 
shall  explain  or  emphasize  it.     Since  this  minor  detail  must  be 
so  arranged  within  the  picture-space  as  to  leave  no  portion  either 
vacant  or  unduly  obtrusive  —  a  vacant  spot  is  always  obtrusive 

—  and  since  in  order  to  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  lead  the  vision 
in  orderly  progression  over  the  entire  picture,  a  knowledge  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  composition  is  necessary.     Some  workers 
may  say  that  they  compose  by  instinct,  or  rather  by  innate  feeling; 
but  it  will  be  found  that  in  such  cases  the  act  of  composition  has 
been  preceded  by  study  of  pictures  and  unconscious  absorption  of 
the  principles  involved.     If  these  principles  can  be  indicated  in 
an  article,  it  may  serve  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  student 
toward  a  method  of  study  and  thereby  save  him  much  time  and 
effort. 

[21] 


Certain  fundamental  facts  underlie  the  composition  of  a 
picture,  and  we  will  simply  state  them  briefly  as  follows,  omitting 
any  discussion  of  the  reasons  why  they  obtain;  but  it  must  be 
understood  that  they  are  psychological  facts  and  not  principles  of 
composition. 

Every  line  and  every  spot  in  a  picture  has  a  power  to  attract 
the  vision,  this  power  depending  on  the  character  of  the  line  or 
spot  and  on  its  relation  to  its  surroundings. 

The  vision  tends  to  follow  along  a  line  in  the  direction  of  the 
impulse  received  from  objects  seen  before  reaching  the  beginning 
of  the  line. 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  vision  tends  to  follow  vertical 
or  diagonal  lines  upward  rather  than  downward,  or,  in  the  case 
of  a  horizontal  line,  from  left  to  right. 

A  straight  line  is  followed  more  readily  than  a  broken  one,  and 
the  same  is  true  with  reference  to  a  curved  line,  which  is  the 
equivalent  of  the  broken  one,  though  it  in  turn  is  followed  more 
easily  than  the  broken  line. 

The  attractive  power  of  a  spot  depends  on  its  area  and  in- 
tensity, a  light  spot  being  more  attractive  than  a  dark  one  of 
equal  measure,  and  also  on  its  surroundings.  Thus,  if  we  have 
two  spots  of  equal  size,  one  white  and  the  other  black,  and  place 
them  on  a  ground  of  gray  formed  by  the  mixture  of  equal  quan- 
tities of  black  and  white,  the  white  spot  will  be  more  attractive; 
but  if  they  be  placed  on  a  ground  of  very  light  gray,  the  black 
will  be  more  so.  Hence  we  see  that,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  vision  seeks  light  and  recoils  from  shadow,  and  also  that  the 
attractive  power  of  a  spot  increases  with  the  contrast  between  it 
and  its  surroundings. 

The  attractive  power  of  a  spot  is  directly  proportional  to  its 
area. 

We  may  take  up  now  the  principles  of  composition,  and  it 
will  be  well  merely  to  state  them  at  first,  discussing  them  after- 
ward, for  a  full  comprehension  of  each  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance. They  are  as  follows: 

[22] 


Unity  Rhythm 

Harmony  Subordination 

Contrast  Simplicity 

Repetition  Balance 

These  are,  of  course,  fundamental  art-principles  as  well  as 
principles  of  pictorial  composition;  but  the  present  discussion 
is  concerned  only  with  the  latter  application. 

Unity  is  the  most  important,  and  may  be  defined  as  the  com- 
bination of  parts  to  form  a  homogeneous  whole.  The  principle 
was  discussed  to  some  extent  in  the  first  part  of  the  present  essay; 
but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  unity  is  of  two  sorts,  natural 
and  artificial  —  the  former  that  which  would  be  perceived  by  the 
layman,  the  latter  that  which  is  dependent  on  arbitrary  laws. 
This  difference  may  be  illustrated  by  a  reference  to  the  drama, 
wherein  an  anachronism  is  a  violation  of  natural  unity,  whereas 
making  the  supposed  action  of  the  play  occupy  more  time  than 
the  representation  is  a  violation  of  the  Aristotelian  unities.  In 
photography  the  printing  in  of  clouds,  such  as  are  never  seen  at 
the  season  or  the  time  of  day  represented,  is  a  violation  of  natural 
unity;  on  the  other  hand,  the  printing  in  of  any  clouds  whatever, 
the  manipulation  of  the  negative,  local  work  on  the  print,  or  the 
introduction  of  several  colors,  is  a  violation  of  artificial  unity. 
If  the  worker  possesses  force  of  character  and  originality  of  thought, 
combined  with  good  taste,  he  may  safely  disregard  all  arbitrary 
laws,  which  are  of  no  permanent  value  and  are  often  hampering; 
but  this  is  a  matter  for  each  one  to  decide  for  himself. 

Closely  allied  to  unity  is  harmony,  which  is  the  arrangement 
of  parts  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  form  a  pleasing  whole, 
and  this  may  be  considered  to  be  of  two  kinds  —  negative  and 
positive.  The  former  is  that  which  results  in  an  arrangement 
which  is  not  definitely  unpleasant,  whereas  the  latter  goes  farther 
and  produces  a  conjunction  of  lines  and  masses  that  —  as  is  the 
case  with  certain  arrangements  of  musical  notes — is  pleasing  simply 
of  itself,  without  relation  to  the  remainder  of  the  composition. 

[23] 


Unity  and  harmony  are  not  the  same,  however,  as  the  former 
may  exist  without  the  latter,  though  harmony  presupposes  the 
existence  of  the  more  abstract  quality.  If  harmony  be  carried 
too  far,  the  result  will  be  mere  prettiness  without  vigor,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  introduce  contrast. 

Contrast  may  be  of  line,  of  tone,  or  of  thought,  and  may  be 
either  gradual  —  as  in  the  case  of  a  line  diverging  at  a  progress- 
ively increasing  angle  from  the  main  line  —  or  abrupt,  as  in  the 
case  of  a  sudden  transition  from  light  to  dark.  Contrast  is  one 
of  the  most  valuable  aids  possessed  by  the  artist,  as  it  may  serve 
either  to  counteract  the  effect  of  repetition  —  as  will  be  explained 
later  —  or  to  give  strength  to  an  otherwise  weak  composition. 
For  instance,  a  twilight-scene,  chiefly  in  low  or  middle-tones,  may 
easily  prove  monotonous,  especially  if  composed,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  mainly  in  horizontal  lines;  but  the  introduction  of  a  space 
of  strong  light  in  the  sky,  particularly  if  so  arranged  as  to  afford 
an  attraction  in  a  vertical  direction,  may  serve  to  give  vigor  to 
the  whole.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  addition  of  such  a  spot 
would  tend  to  make  the  adjacent  masses  seem  darker  than  they 
would  appear  without  it,  and  at  the  same  time  would  raise  the 
key  of  the  whole  picture,  so  that  to  counteract  this  tendency  it 
would  be  necessary  either  to  add  a  space  of  deep  shadow,  which 
would  lower  the  key  simultaneously  and  restore  the  middle-tones 
to  their  proper  value,  or  to  print  deeper,  thereby  lowering 
the  values  sufficiently  to  compensate  the  addition  of  the  light. 
Contrast  should  be  used  sparingly,  whether  in  line  or  in  light, 
as  an  excess  will  make  the  result  either  spotty  or  diffuse  —  in 
short,  non-homogeneous. 

The  repetition  of  the  lines  or  values  of  the  principal  object, 
either  directly  or  with  slight  variation,  in  the  same  key  or  in  a 
different  one,  serves  to  explain  the  principal  object,  but  at  the 
same  time  detracts  from  its  vigor,  so  that  it  becomes  necessary 
to  introduce  some  line  or  some  value  to  counteract  this  tendency, 
unless,  of  course,  repetition  is  employed  to  soften  an  excessively 
strong  accent.  An  illustration  may  be  found  in  the  case  of  a  forest- 

[24] 


scene,  where  one  tree,  the  principal  object,  would  be  meaningless 
if  isolated.  The  introduction  of  other  trees,  smaller  in  size  because 
more  distant,  serves  to  explain  the  large  one;  but  at  the  same 
time  the  repetition  of  the  vertical  lines  diminishes  their  force, 
which  may  be  restored  by  the  introduction  of  a  few  horizontal 
lines  in  the  form  of  strips  of  alternate  light  and  shadow.  Repeti- 
tion of  a  value  operates  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  necessary 
emphasis  is  secured  in  this  case  by  the  use  of  one  or  more  spots 
differing  widely  in  key,  though,  as  already  pointed  out,  either  the 
spot  or  the  line  may  be  employed  to  give  contrast,  apart  from 
repetition. 

Rhythm  is  allied  to  repetition,  but  is  not  identical  with  it, 
being  broader  in  its  application,  and  consisting  of  a  recurring  line 
or  value,  or  series  of  such,  with  perhaps  a  definite  accent.  Both 
rhythm  and  repetition  are  more  useful  in  formal  art  than  in  land- 
scape, but  have  an  application  in  the  latter,  rhythm  often  being 
exemplified  in  the  structure  of  clouds,  especially  those  of  the 
cumulous  variety.  In  general,  though,  landscape-work  is  more 
concerned  with  variety  than  with  rhythm. 

Subordination  is  rather  a  quality  than  a  principle,  and  means 
simply  that  the  detail  which  is  introduced  to  explain  or  to  give 
emphasis  to  the  principal  thought  or  object  must  not  compete 
with  this  in  interest.  It  will  be  apparent  that,  should  this  be  the 
case,  the  effect  of  the  principal  object  will  be  diminished,  and  one 
of  the  greatest  difficulties  that  the  photographer  has  to  encounter 
is  the  inclusion  by  the  lens  of  excessive  detail,  special  objectives 
having  been  designed,  and  methods  employed,  to  avoid  this  fault. 
Careful  choice  of  subject  and  careful  focusing  will  go  far  toward 
attaining  subordination,  and  proper  exposure  and  development 
will  help  to  secure  it  at  either  end  of  the  scale,  the  final  recourse 
being  the  manipulation  of  negative  or  print. 

Simplicity  is  related  to  subordination,  as  it  means  the  elimina- 
tion of  all  unnecessary  detail  and  gradation,  keeping  only  that 
which  is  required  to  give  clearness  and  vigor  to  the  expression  of 
the  fundamental  emotion  or  thought.  Simplicity  is  not  necessary,, 

[25] 


for  a  great  quantity  of  detail  may  be  introduced  without  harm 
if  it  be  subordinated  properly;  but  the  more  detail  that  is  used 
the  greater  becomes  the  difficulty  to  keep  it  non-obtrusive,  and 
the  less  the  chance  of  including  mystery — that  most  desirable 
quality.  In  short,  no  more  detail  should  be  used  than  will  suffice 
to  carry  the  idea,  and  in  this  case  detail  means  not  only  recog- 
nizable articles,  but  gradations  of  tone  and  outlines  of  objects; 
that  is,  anything  which  serves  to  attract  attention.  There  is  a 
kind  of  simplicity  which  consists  in  reproducing  literally  some 
subject  which  contains  little  detail;  but  in  such  a  case  it  is  for- 
gotten that  the  subject  with  little  detail  has  usually  little  mean- 
ing, and  the  highest  development  of  the  photographer's  art 
demands  that  he  have  the  perception  to  realize  and  the  skill  to 
reproduce  only  those  portions  of  the  subject  which  have  value. 

Balance  is  the  last  of  the  fundamental  principles  which  we  will 
consider,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  important.  We  have  seen  that 
the  picture  must  have  a  principal  object,  which  usually  should  be 
placed  in  the  strongest  space  —  that  is,  the  space  which  naturally 
has  the  most  attractive  power  —  within  the  frame.  Since  regu- 
larity generally  is  found  to  be  monotonous,  the  weakest  point  of 
the  picture-space  is  the  center,  and  the  next  weakest  are  to  be 
found  on  the  horizontal  and  vertical  axes  of  the  frame,  so  it  follows 
that  our  point  of  interest  probably  will  be  located  away  from  the 
center,  and  in  neither  a  horizontal  nor  a  vertical  direction  from 
it;  but  no  indication  can  be  given  of  the  distance  it  should  be 
from  the  edges  of  the  picture,  as  this  varies  with  each  composi- 
tion. Since  composition  as  understood  by  Occidental  workers  — 
the  Japanese  do  not  seem  to  agree  with  this  —  requires  that  the 
vision  be  led  in  due  progression  over  the  entire  picture,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  provide  some  attraction  on  the  other  side  of  the  central 
line  from  the  principal  object,  and  this  maybe  done  in  anyone  of 
three  ways,  or  in  a  combination  of  two  of  them,  it  being  merely 
noted  in  passing  that  landscape-compositions  are  almost  always 
arranged  about  a  vertical  axis.  The  first  method  of  providing 
balance  is  to  place  an  attraction  of  equal  size  and  value,  and  of 

[26] 


I 


the  same  general  form  as  the  principal  one,  in  the  same  relative 
position  to  the  central  axis  as  the  latter,  but  in  the  other  half  of 
the  picture-space.  This  method,  useful  as  it  is  in  decoration  and 
design,  is  not  much  employed  in  landscape-  or  portrait-work, 
because  of  the  tendency  which  it  has  to  produce  monotony,  and 
the  second  method  is  to  be  preferred,  this  consisting  of  the  use 
of  an  object  smaller  in  size  but  of  greater  attractive  power,  and 
placed  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  central  axis  than  the  princi- 
pal one,  the  construction  being  either  on  the  vertical  plane  or  in 
perspective,  the  smaller  object  being,  in  the  latter  case,  in  either 
the  middle-distance  or  the  distance.  This  method  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  giving  variety  and  vigor  to  the  result,  and  is  most 
often  used  in  pictorial  art.  The  third  method  is  to  introduce 
apparent  motion  of  the  principal  object  toward  the  space  where 
attraction  is  desired,  for  motion  toward  a  space  always  causes 
the  vision  to  turn  in  the  direction  indicated.  This  and  the  second 
method  are  sometimes  used  together  with  excellent  results;  for 
the  third  method,  if  used  alone,  tends  to  produce  a  feeling  of 
unrest. 

The  type  of  line  predominating  in  the  composition  has  a  marked 
effect  on  the  feeling  conveyed  by  the  picture,  and  care  should  be 
taken  to  choose  the  type  best  suited  to  the  emotion  to  be  expressed, 
not  only  as  regards  the  structural  forms  included  in  the  arrange- 
ment, but  as  to  the  linear  dimensions  of  the  print.  Like  most  of 
the  facts  in  connection  with  composition,  the  different  kinds  of 
line  derive  their  value  from  association,  forms  which  we  regard  as 
being  strong  and  dignified,  being,  in  nature,  characterized  by  a 
preponderance  of  vertical  lines,  whereas  the  more  graceful  and 
gentle  shapes  are  those  in  which  curved  lines  are  the  most 
apparent.  Also,  diagonal  lines  are  associated  with  movement; 
whereas  horizontal  lines  are  most  expressive  of  calm  and  peace,  and 
zigzag  ones  indicate,  as  might  be  expected,  swift,  erratic  motion. 
Of  course,  all  these  effects  are  modified  by  the  surrounding  condi- 
tions, and  necessarily  must  be  affected  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
by  the  introduction  of  contrasting  lines  intended  to  give  emphasis; 

[27] 


but  the  artist  will  select  such  lines  as  are  most  likely  to  aid  his 
expression,  remembering  always  that  an  arrangement  of  spots,  a 
strong  attraction,  or  a  strong  impulse  in  any  given  direction, 
may  be  equivalent  to  a  line. 

The  question  of  values  is  one  of  the  most  abstruse  which  the 
artist  has  to  encounter,  and  is  of  special  importance  to  the  pho- 
tographer, whose  work,  lacking  the  element  of  color,  depends  for 
its  effect  largely  on  relative  values.  Line  of,  course,  is  important, 
as  it  must  be  to  any  worker  in  monochrome;  but  the  technical 
methods  employed  by  the  photographer  inherently  are  capable 
of  rendering  the  values  of  nature  more  perfectly  than  any  other 
medium,  and  the  photographer  has  the  power  to  modify  them  — 
even  without  manual  intervention  —  to  as  great  an  extent  as  the 
worker  in  any  other  process.  The  objective  side  of  the  subject  is 
learned  easily,  for,  given  a  panchromatic  plate  as  well  as  the 
ordinary  and  orthochromatic  types,  a  visual  luminosity-filter  and 
a  set  of  contrast-filters,  together  with  an  actinometer  and  some 
knowledge  of  the  effects  of  under-  and  overexposure  and  under- 
and  overdevelopment,  the  photographer  is  equipped  to  render 
the  relative  values  of  the  subject  correctly,  to  compress  or  extend 
the  scale,  or  to  emphasize  any  particular  color  at  will.  This, 
however,  is  the  least  part  of  the  matter,  for  the  subjective  effect 
of  values  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  some  photographers 
with  little  technical  knowledge  have  become  noted  for  their  treat- 
ment of  values,  simply  by  reason  of  their  appreciation  of  the 
more  abstract  qualities,  whereas  the  finest  technician  can  never 
produce  anything  of  artistic  value  if  he  goes  no  farther  than  this 
knowledge.  It  is,  however,  foolish  to  decry  technique,  for,  other 
things  being  equal,  the  greater  a  man's  knowledge,  the  more 
chance  there  is  of  his  producing  work  that  will  have  permanent 
value.  As  an  instance,  we  may  refer  to  the  Austrian  workers 
Kiihn,  Henneberg,  and  Watzek,  who  produced  landscapes  as 
fine  in  conception  and  feeling  as  any  that  have  ever  been  done, 
with  the  exception  of  some  of  Clarence  H.  White's,  and  were  at  the 
same  time  as  skilful  technicians  as  any  one  could  be. 

[28] 


PLATE  IX.  — THE   BROOK,   EVENING   SUNLIGHT 


1,000,000 


o.l  1.0  to  100  1,000  10,000         100,000 

Ll$HT-lNTE.N5ITY     IN     GANP\-E  -  ME.TE  RS  . 

CURVE  SHOWING    5Etssmve.NE.55  OF  THE. 
TO  VARYINQ    LI^HT-  lHTE.Nsme.5. 

In  considering  the  rendering  of  values  and  the  subjective 
effect  of  modifying  the  representation  given  by  the  plate,  the 
first  thing  is  to  determine  the  extent  to  which  the  eye  appreciates 
the  relative  luminosity  of  natural  objects,  and  the  curve  given 
above  shows  this  clearly.  Abscissae  represent  luminosity  in  terms 
of  a  standard  candle,  and  ordinates  the  sensitiveness  of  the  vision. 
It  will  be  seen  that  with  an  illumination  of  less  than  one  candle- 
meter  the  eye  sees  very  little,  but  the  amount  of  detail  that  is 
visible  rises  with  disproportionate  rapidity  as  this  point  is  ap- 
proached, the  rise  being  virtually  uniform  between  one  and  one 
thousand  candle-meters.  One  candle-meter  corresponds  approxi- 
mately to  the  illumination  of  a  white  house  in  moonlight,  and 
ten  thousand  is  that  of  white  clouds  near  the  sun.  Hence  it  will 
be  seen  that  if  we  wish  to  give  the  impression  of  faint  illumination, 
such  as  moonlight  or  twilight,  we  can  do  so  by  arranging  our 
relative  values  in  accordance  with  the  lower  part  of  the  curve  — 
that  is,  having  little  differentiation  in  the  shadows,  with  relatively 

[29] 


brilliant  lights  —  and  if  we  wish  to  give  a  feeling  of  strong  light 
we  should  have  flat  highlights  and  relatively  strong  contrast  in 
the  shadows.  Readers  familiar  with  the  work  of  Messrs.  Hurter 
and  Driffield  will  recognize  at  once  the  general  form  of  this  curve 
as  similar  to  the  characteristic  curve  of  the  dryplate,  and  the 
thought  will  suggest  itself  that  faint  illumination  is  to  be  sug- 
gested by  underexposure  and  strong  light  by  overexposure,  using 
these  terms  to  indicate  the  relation  of  the  exposure  to  the  normal ; 
and  this  is  in  fact  the  case,  for  such  a  course  will  produce  the 
effect  desired,  no  matter  what  the  actual  illumination  of  the  scene 
may  be.  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  in  a  weak  light  the 
strongest  light  is  far  below  the  maximum  which  the  eye  can  see, 
so  white  paper  should  never  be  used  in  any  part  of  the  print  — 
unless  the  source  of  illumination  is  included  —  the  most  bril- 
liantly illuminated  object  being  a  medium  gray,  and  that  there 
are  in  nature  no  black  shadows  under  a  full  light,  so  that  in  a  sun- 
lit landscape  the  darkest  space  will  be  a  medium  gray.  In  other 
words,  when  representing  either  a  high  or  a  low  key  we  must  use 
a  soft  negative  and  adjust  the  result  by  modifying  the  exposure, 
printing  light  or  dark  as  the  case  may  be.  The  principal  thing 
to  guard  against  is  underexposing  a  brightly  lighted  scene  and 
developing  too  far,  for  heavy  shadows  will  prevent  the  suggestion 
of  sunlight.  Of  course,  it  may  be  desired  to  have  empty  shadows, 
devoid  of  detail,  together  with  a  high  key,  in  which  case  under- 
exposure may  be  correct,  but  the  negative  should  be  kept  soft. 

There  are,  however,  some  conditions  which  require  a  strong 
negative,  as  may  be  seen  if  we  stand  facing  west  at  sunset,  with 
a  row  of  heavy  trees  in  the  middle-distance.  Examining  the 
trees,  themselves,  we  may  be  able  to  see  detail  in  them;  but  if  the 
gaze  be  concentrated  on  the  sky  we  shall  receive  the  impression 
that  the  trees  are  simply  a  solid  black  mass,  though  on  shading 
the  eyes  from  the  sky  much  detail  will  become  visible  immediately 
in  the  shadows.  Here,  then,  we  need  a  strong  negative,  such 
as  will  give  a  full-scale  print,  but  the  exposure  must  be  governed 
by  the  location  of  the  interest.  If  this  is  in  the  trees,  the  exposure 

[30] 


must  be  sufficient  to  show  faint  detail  in  the  shadows;  and  if  it 
is  in  the  sky,  the  trees  must  remain  empty 

If  for  any  reason  empty  shadows  are  used,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  no  matter  how  black  a  shadow  is  in  nature  it  never  gives 
a  feeling  of  flatness,  but  always  seems  to  have  some  depth,  and 
this  is  true  even  though  it  may  be  devoid  of  any  gradation.  This 
characteristic  may  be  suggested  in  the  print  by  introducing  either 
a  little  gradation,  which,  however,  should  not  suggest  any  natural 
object,  or  else  a  lustre.  Platinum  paper  or,  in  fact,  any  paper  in 
which  the  image  is  deposited  in  metallic  form  on  the  surface  of 
the  support,  is  not  so  successful  in  rendering  this  effect,  even 
though  varnished,  as  a  medium  in  which  the  pigment  is  supported 
in  a  film  of  appreciable  thickness  of  some  colloid,  such  as  gelatin 
or  gum  arabic.  Bromide  paper  is  not  suitable  for  the  purpose, 
as  it  will  not  give  blacks  of  sufficient  richness;  but  carbon  and 
gum  answer  the  purpose  admirably.  Photogravure  also  gives 
very  rich  blacks,  and  if  a  little  gradation  is  introduced  the  sugges- 
tion may  be  perfect,  better,  indeed,  than  with  either  of  the  other 
processes  advised;  for  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  lustre  is  only 
a  makeshift,  nature's  deepest  tones  never  being  lustrous,  but 
having  the  peculiar  "velvety"  texture  of  a  good  photogravure. 
Sunlight  is  easier  to  render,  as  almost  any  paper  is  capable  of 
giving  good  quality  in  a  high  key,  the  failures  being  in  the  lower 
tones. 

If  the  values  of  the  scene  are  rendered  correctly  and  the  scene 
is  of  a  type  with  which  the  spectator  is  familiar,  there  will  often 
be  a  suggestion  of  color,  the  strength  of  this  suggestion  depend- 
ing, of  course,  on  the  activity  of  the  observer's  imagination,  which 
impels  him  to  remember  what  he  has  seen  in  nature,  thus  giving 
added  force  to  the  impression  which  the  picture  makes  on  him. 
This  effect  may  be  heightened  by  choosing  a  printing-color  which 
will  help  to  stimulate  the  imagination,  as  the  psychological  power 
of  different  pigments  varies  greatly.  Thus,  a  snow-scene  printed 
in  blue-black  on  white  paper  will  be  powerfully  suggestive,  though 
any  one  who  has  ever  observed  snow  closely  knows  that  it  may 


contain  an  infinite  number  of  colors,  so  that  mere  blue  can  never 
render  the  scene  accurately,  any  more  than  gray  can  render  a 
summer-landscape.  The  prevailing  impression  of  snow,  however, 
is  that  it  is  cold,  and  a  cold  color  heightens  the  effect  through 
association.  Similarly,  the  most  obvious  impression  regarding 
sunlight  is  that  it  is  warm,  and  by  printing  a  summer-landscape 
in  warm  gray  or  brown,  the  effect  is  intensified.  As  the  light 
grows  weaker  colors  lose  their  visibility,  form  being  distinguish- 
able long  after  color  has  disappeared.  The  cold  colors  —  blue, 
blue-green,  and  green,  also  all  secondaries  and  tertiaries  having 
a  predominating  admixture  of  blue,  lose  their  visibility  first,  the 
warmer  colors  —  yellow,  orange,  red,  and  mixed  colors  in  which 
these  predominate,  remaining  visible  as  color  after  the  cold  colors 
have  become  black.  Furthermore,  the  light  usually  becomes 
warmer  toward  sunset,  and,  though  it  again  becomes  cold  after- 
ward, this  fact  is  not  realized  by  the  average  observer,  who  asso- 
ciates warmth  with  dusk.  Hence,  twilight-scenes  should  be 
printed  in  a  warm  color,  except  in  the  case  of  winter-pictures, 
which  are  to  convey  a  sense  of  cold.  If,  though,  the  scene  is 
illuminated  by  the  moon,  the  character  of  it  will  be  cold,  that  being 
the  color  of  the  light  reflected  by  the  moon  except  when  it  is  near 
the  horizon,  in  which  case  it  is  so  weak  in  illuminating-power  as 
not  to  be  very  useful  for  pictorial  purposes.  Hence,  a  cold  color 
should  be  selected  for  moonlight-pictures,  though  this  should  be 
no  more  than  a  cold  black,  positive  color  tending  to  detract  from 
the  effect. 

While  dealing  with  color,  it  may  be  well  to  say  a  few  words 
concerning  the  development  in  this  direction  which  seems  to  be 
taking  place  among  photographers,  some  of  whom,  working  in 
gum  or  oil,  attempt  to  give  the  colors  of  nature  by  working  over 
the  print  locally  with  different  pigments.  The  writer  cannot 
approve  this  method  of  work,  for  color  is  the  most  abstruse  subject 
in  all  art,  requiring  long  and  earnest  study  in  order  to  master  it, 
and  the  photographer  is  seldom  willing  to  give  this  effort.  Then, 
the  painter  who  attempts  to  give  color  works  partly  from  a  trained 

[32] 


memory  and  partly  from  color-sketches,  whereas  the  photographer 
relies  chiefly  on  an  untrained  recollection  of  the  scene.  Then, 
too,  it  is  easy  for  the  painter  to  draw  color,  although  it  is  difficult  — 
almost  impossible  —  for  him  to  draw  form;  but  the  camera  can 
draw  form  with  the  utmost  ease  and  accuracy,  color  being  difficult 
for  it.  This  being  so,  it  would  seem  best  for  the  photographer 
to  devote  himself  to  the  application  of  the  possibilities  of  his 
medium,  instead  of  trying  to  do  what  is  hard  for  it  to  accomplish. 
Painters  know  better  than  to  do  this,  and  do  not  attempt  what 
is  beyond  the  power  of  the  medium  in  which  they  may  be  work- 
ing. What  has  been  said  must  not  be  construed  as  adverse  to 
three-color  or  autochrome-work  —  both  of  these  being  perfectly 
legitimate  applications  of  the  art  —  but  merely  as  a  disapproval 
of  the  arbitrary  application  of  colors  to  different  portions  of  the 
print,  whether  this  be  done  by  means  of  transparent  dyes  on  the 
picture,  or  by  one  of  the  control-processes.  As  regards  the  use 
of  the  screen-plate  color-processes,  however,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  one  may  lose  more  than  he  gains.  There  is  a  peculiar  quality 
that  is  attainable  in  photography,  as  well  as  in  painting,  that  can 
be  indicated  only  by  the  word  "texture."  This  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  rendering  of  the  textures  of  different  materials,  which 
is  largely  a  question  of  relative  values,  but  refers  to  the  super- 
ficial appearance  of  the  picture.  Any  painter  can  recognize  this 
quality,  and  will  know  what  is  meant  by  the  word,  but  will  be 
unable  to  describe  it,  even  though  he  himself  is  one  of  those  who 
attain  it.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  a  quality  which  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  expression  of  the  subject,  but  since  it  is  very  pleasing 
to  the  spectator  it  is  valuable,  for  anything  which  pleases  is  a  help 
to  the  picture.  Of  those  photographers  with  whose  work  the 
writer  is  familiar,  Clarence  H.  White  and  Karl  Struss  have  at- 
tained this  quality  to  the  highest  degree,  and  it  adds  greatly  to 
their  work.  In  autochrome-work,  however,  this  precious  quality 
is  totally  lost,  and,  in  fact,  it  cannot  be  got  in  any  transparency. 
The  writer  recently  saw  a  collection  of  autochromes  and  of  prints 
by  the  same  worker,  and  though  the  former  were  fully  equal  to  the 

[33] 


latter  in  composition  and  arrangement,  and  had  in  addition  the 
great  attraction  of  brilliant  and  harmonious  color  together  with 
great  luminosity,  they  were  far  less  pleasing  than  the  prints, 
simply  because  they  lacked  texture,  whereas  the  prints  had  it  to 
an  extraordinary  extent. 

The  degree  of  definition  is  one  of  the  most  discussed  questions 
in  photography,  and  there  is  no  way  to  determine  the  precise  de- 
gree of  definition  to  suit  the  individual  case.  We  can,  however, 
determine  the  maximum  degree  of  fineness  of  definition  desirable, 
for  this  bears  a  precise  relationship  to  the  size  of  the  print.  As 
is  well  known,  the  angle  of  vision  of  the  eye  is  comparatively 
narrow,  so  that  if  a  picture  is  to  be  viewed  as  a  whole  it  is  neces- 
sary to  retreat  some  distance  from  it.  Also,  the  apparent  sharp- 
ness of  a  line  increases  with  the  distance  from  which  it  is  examined. 
Lines  which  are  too  much  blurred  are  unpleasant ;  so  if  the  specta- 
tor finds  such  in  a  picture  he  retreats  from  it  until  they  appear 
sharp,  whereas  if  the  lines  are  sharply  defined,  he  tends  to  approach 
within  ordinary  reading-distance.  Hence,  the  definition  should 
be  such  as  to  force  the  observer  to  the  proper  viewing-distance 
for  the  size  of  print,  but  in  addition  to  this  we  must  take  into 
account  the  esthetic  effect  of  a  blurred  line.  Even  if  the  definition 
is  softened,  the  spectator  will  not  retreat  much  beyond  the  proper 
viewing-distance,  and  it  may  be  that  a  softening  of  definition  at 
this  distance  is  desirable,  partly  because  a  harsh  line  is  unpleasant, 
and  partly  for  the  undeniable  heightening  of  the  suggestion  of 
mystery  which  results  from  the  use  of  some  of  the  methods  avail- 
able for  the  softening  of  outlines.  Of  all  these  methods  the  writer 
much  prefers  the  use  of  a  soft-focus  lens,  either  in  making  the 
original  negative  or  on  the  enlarging-camera ;  for  such  lenses,  in 
addition  to  giving  soft  outlines,  also  produce  a  vibrating  effect  of 
light  which  carries  through  the  whole  print  and  is  unattainable 
by  any  other  means  known  to  the  writer,  being  wonderfully  sug- 
gestive. In  fact,  the  writer  feels  that  harsh  outlines  are  exceed- 
ingly offensive,  and  would  suggest  that  every  owner  of  an 
anastigmat  or  rectilinear  should  also  possess  a  single  lens  for  use 

[34] 


in  enlarging.  The  highly-corrected  lenses,  of  course,  have  the 
great  advantages  of  speed  and  flatness  of  field;  but  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  they  are  primarily  scientific  instruments,  and 
as  such  are  of  little  use  to  the  artist,  whose  purpose  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  scientist.  This  is  by  no  means  to  say  that 
art  is  of  greater  value  than  science,  for  both  are  equally  necessary 
to  our  happiness  and  welfare,  but  merely  that  the  two  are  different, 
and  that  in  the  choice  of  camera-objectives,  as  in  other  things, 
their  needs  are  separate. 

The  introduction  of  a  certain  amount  of  detail  is  necessary 
for  the  purpose  of  explanation,  and,  in  fact,  every  object  presented 
may  be  considered  as  detail,  though  the  term  is  generally  used  to 
indicate  minor  details,  such  as  leaves,  twigs,  etc.  It  is  always  a 
question  how  much  of  this  minor  detail  may  be  included  without 
detracting  from  the  effect  of  the  whole,  and  since  it  is  often  beauti- 
ful in  itself,  the  tendency  is  to  employ  too  much  rather  than  too 
little.  A  way  —  the  best,  in  fact  —  to  determine  what  should  be 
left  out,  is  to  omit  everything  which  does  not  actually  aid  the 
principal  object  to  convey  the  sentiment  that  is  to  be  expressed. 
If  this  be  done,  there  need  be  no  fear  of  overloading  the  picture, 
and  it  is  extremely  unlikely  that  anything  of  value  will  be  omitted, 
whereas  the  inclusion  of  more  than  this  procedure  calls  for  prob- 
ably will  injure  the  effect.  It  has  been  said  that  this  minor 
detail  is  often  beautiful  in  itself,  and  it  may  be  the  case  that  what 
would  be  minor  detail  in  one  picture  may  be  the  motive  of  an- 
other. For  instance,  the  writer  has  a  photograph  of  a  wood- 
interior,  the  chief  interest  of  which  centers  in  the  slanting  rays 
of  light  falling  through  the  openings  between  the  leaves.  The 
picture  was  taken  in  the  autumn,  and  at  the  time  the  ground  was 
covered  with  a  mass  of  fallen  leaves,  very  beautiful  in  themselves, 
but  so  prominent  as  to  detract  from  the  main  interest,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  subdue  them  by  manipulation  of  the  negative, 
though  a  photograph  with  the  leaves  as  the  motive  would  have 
been  pleasing.  When  an  instance  of  this  sort  is  encountered,  the 
best  plan  is  to  make  three  exposures,  one  in  which  the  principal 

[35] 


object  is  emphasized,  one  in  which  the  emphasis  is  given  to  the 
minor  detail,  and  one  giving  equal  prominence  to  both.  The  last 
will  usually  be  thrown  away,  but  will  serve  to  prevent  any  regrets 
on  account  of  a  possible  loss  of  opportunity,  whereas  each  of  the 
others  may  prove  to  contain  a  picture.  This  advice,  of  course, 
will  not  be  followed  by  the  advanced  worker,  who  generally  knows 
what  he  wants,  or  can  decide  when  on  the  ground ;  but  it  may  be 
of  use  to  the  beginner,  and  at  all  events  will  enable  him  to  study 
at  his  leisure  the  effect  of  different  forms  of  treatment. 


[36] 


PLATE  XL  — THE   HILLSIDE 


Part  III—  Technical  Methods 


NO  elaborate  discussion  of  technique  will  be  given; 
for  many  articles,  in  the  photographic  magazines, 
as  well  as  several  textbooks  on  the  subject,  have 
given    fuller    information    than    could    possibly   be 
included  in  the  space  of  such  a  volume  as  the  present.     Any  good 
magazine  is  a  mine  of  information,  and  valuable  formulae  are  to 
be  found  in  the  photographic  annuals,  especially  those  published 
in  England  and  Germany.    A  few  remarks  may  be  given,  however, 
and  will  perhaps  prove  of  value. 

In  the  first  place,  there  are  two  distinct  ways  to  approach  the 
photography  of  landscape  —  the  direct  and  by  enlargement.  In 
the  first  case  the  camera  requires  a  plate  practically  the  same 
size  as  that  of  the  finished  print,  and  the  print  is  made  directly 
from  the  original  negative.  In  the  second  method  a  small  camera 
is  employed  and  the  final  print  is  made  either  by  enlarging  on 
bromide  paper  or  by  printing  in  some  other  medium  from  an 
enlarged  negative.  The  former  plan  has  the  great  advantage  that 
it  necessitates  fewer  operations  and  makes  it  easier  for  the  worker 
to  attain  the  desired  quality  in  his  print,  which  is  often  lost  in  the 
additional  processes  of  making  a  transparency  and  an  enlarged 
negative.  It  has,  however,  the  disadvantages  of  limiting  the  size 
of  the  result  and  of  being  less  flexible,  the  former  resulting  from 
the  fact  that  a  camera  larger  than  8  x  10  is  too  heavy  for  the 
average  person  to  carry;  the  latter  because 'the  intermediate 
operations,  mentioned  above,  permit  the  modification  of  results 
when  the  worker  has  become  skilful  enough  to  control  his  medium. 
It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  worker  to  decide  which  of  these 
methods  he  will  follow,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  writer  prefers 
the  former  when  the  result  is  not  to  be  larger  than  8  x  10,  whereas 
if  prints  n  x  14  or  larger  are  desired,  the  second  is  adopted.  In 

[37] 


choosing  a  small  camera  for  the  second  method,  as  large  a  one  as 
can  be  carried  should  be  selected,  because  it  is  easier  to  compose 
the  picture  on  the  ground-glass  if  the  latter  be  of  a  fair  size,  and 
with  too  small  a  one  faults  of  composition  may  pass  unnoticed 
which  will,  on  enlargement,  be  very  conspicuous.  As  to  ratio  of 
enlargement,  this  has  no  effect,  provided  the  arrangement  of  line 
and  tone  be  good,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  it  into  account. 
When  making  pictures  for  subsequent  enlargement  the  writer 
almost  always  uses  a  6J  x  8 J  folding  plate-camera,  though  some- 
times a  4J  x  6|  kodak  to  which  a  focusing-back  has  been  fitted, 
the  latter  because  the  use  of  the  ground-glass  is  strongly  to  be 
recommended,  and  because  plates  are  for  many  reasons  preferable 
to  films.  The  latter  have,  to  be  sure,  the  advantage  of  portability; 
but  there  their  superiority  ends,  for  in  every  other  respect  plates 
are  better.  The  camera  chosen  should  have  a  long  bellows,  hori- 
zontal and  vertical  swing-back  —  or  front,  which  amounts  to  the 
same  thing  —  rising  and  falling  front,  and  a  large  front-board, 
together  with  a  focusing-screw,  though  it  is  possible  to  use  the 
clamp  which  is  the  only  means  of  focal  adjustment  on  the  folding 
film-instruments.  The  view-type  of  camera  combines  these  ad- 
justments with  a  low  price,  though  if  greater  compactness  is 
desired,  and  cost  is  not  an  important  item,  the  folding  plate- 
cameras  are  better.  The  horizontal  swing-back  will  seldom  be 
used  in  landscape-work  and  may  be  dispensed  with,  though  it  is 
useful  in  portraiture  and  architectural  photography. 

If  subjects  which  contain  much  red  or  orange  are  to  be  photo- 
graphed, a  panchromatic  plate  is  necessary;  but  this  is  seldom 
the  case  in  landscape-work,  and  for  all  practical  purposes  an 
ordinary  orthochromatic  plate  will  be  found  perfectly  satisfactory, 
provided  it  be  used  with  a  ray-filter,  as  should  ordinarily  be  done, 
and  provided  some  means  be  employed  to  render  it  non-halation, 
as  otherwise  it  will  be  difficult  to  include  clouds  with  the  landscape 
on  the  original  negative,  and  branches  of  trees,  where  outlined 
against  the  sky,  will  be  too  vague,  or  may  even  disappear  alto- 
gether. The  American  manufacturers  furnish  many  good  ortho- 

[38] 


PLATE  XII.  — SNOW 


chromatic  plates  in  double-coated  form,  the  additional  coating 
rendering  them  non-halation,  whereas  the  English  makers  rely 
more  on  backing,  which  is  equally  good  so  far  as  preventing  hala- 
tion is  concerned,  but  does  not  provide  the  extra  length  of  scale 
and  consequent  latitude  of  exposure  which  inheres  in  the  double- 
coated  plate.  However,  a  single-coated  plate,  if  properly  backed, 
will  have  latitude  enough  for  anything  that  a  landscape-worker  is 
likely  to  want  to  do.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  a  panchromatic 
plate  will  do  all  that  any  other  will  do,  and  a  little  —  or  rather  a 
great  deal  — more;  so  it  is  advised  that  such  be  employed,  though 
those  workers  who  wish  to  examine  their  plates  during  develop- 
ment —  a  proceeding  which  is  unnecessary  and  is  likely  to  result 
in  fog  —  will  probably  prefer  to  use  the  orthochromatic  variety, 
as  this  will  stand  much  more  light  than  the  others.  The  writer 
uses  panchromatic  plates  entirely,  developing  by  time  and  modify- 
ing results  by  varying  the  length  of  development,  a  formula  for 
developer,  together  with  the  time  of  development  at  various 
temperatures  for  a  definite  degree  of  contrast,  being  given  with 
each  box  of  plates,  as  this  factor  varies  with  the  different  emul- 
sions. It  should  be  stated,  however,  that,  although  the  writer  has 
said  that  he  uses  panchromatic  plates  entirely,  the  accompanying 
illustrations  were  all  made  with  orthochromatic  plates  of  the  non- 
halation  type.  The  explanation  is  simply  that  it  is  only  within 
the  past  year  that  he  has  used  panchromatic  plates,  and  all  the 
negatives  from  which  these  illustrations  are  taken  were  made 
before  that  time.  This  will  also  serve  as  an  indication  that, 
although  the  panchromatic  type  is  valuable  above  all  others  for 
portraiture,  such  is  not  the  case  with  landscape-work.  At  present 
the  writer,  whose  work  is  largely  professional  portraiture,  uses 
panchromatic  plates  for  that  purpose,  and  also  for  what  little 
landscape-work  he  does,  finding  them  better  for  the  latter  than 
any  other,  though  not  a  great  deal  more  valuable. 

The  writer's  preference  is  for  one  of  the  soft-focus  lenses, 
several  good  makes  of  which  are  on  the  market,  although  a  single 
achromatic,  known  as  a  "single  landscape"  lens,  will  give  excellent 

[39] 


drawing  if  opened  to  F/8  instead  of  F/i6,  as  it  is  usually  fur- 
nished. For  the  worker  who  desires  slightly  finer  definition  a 
rapid  rectilinear  is  recommended,  and  if  a  small  camera  is  to  be 
employed  an  anastigmat  may  be  a  good  investment,  for  these 
possess,  as  noted  above,  the  advantages  of  speed  and  flatness  of 
field,  though  the  definition  may  be  softened  to  any  desired  degree 
in  enlarging.  The  use  of  a  soft-focus  lens  on  the  enlarging-camera 
will  result  in  a  quality  of  definition  very  like  that  given  by  such 
an  objective  in  making  the  original  negative,  the  only  difference 
being  that  in  the  former  case  the  diffusion  will  be  uniform  through- 
out all  the  planes,  instead  of  being  least  in  the  plane  which  was 
focused  on,  and  increasing  progressively  in  the  distance. 

A  ray-filter  should  be  part  of  the  equipment,  and  preferably 
it  should  be  procured  from  the  maker  of  the  plate,  as  in  this 
case  it  is  more  likely  to  give  satisfactory  results,  the  manufacturers 
of  the  plate  employed  by  the  writer  giving  the  exposure-factors 
for  their  various  filters  in  conjunction  with  each  batch  of  emul- 
sion, as  the  relation  varies.  In  any  case,  a  filter  giving  full  correc- 
tion will  be  all  that  is  necessary,  and  such  a  filter  should  not 
increase  the  exposure  more  than  five  times.  A  set  of  selective 
filters,  that  is,  filters  which  will  emphasize  any  desired  color,  may 
perhaps  be  useful,  though  the  writer  cannot  recommend  the  use 
of  such  a  set  to  the  landscape-worker.  The  occasions  when  they 
would  be  employed  will  be  rare,  and  the  desired  effect  can  usually 
be  obtained  with  a  little  handwork  on  the  negative,  whereas  the 
inclusion  of  such  a  set  would  mean  adding  to  an  equipment  that 
is  likely  to  be  sufficiently  complicated  without  it. 

Some  means  should  be  used  to  determine  the  correct  exposure, 
there  being  two  types  of  instrument  for  the  purpose,  the  first 
depending  on  the  darkening  of  a  piece  of  sensitive  paper,  the  time 
required  for  it  to  match  a  standard  tint  being  observed;  the 
second  being  based  on  the  fact  that  the  correct  exposure  for  dif- 
ferent conditions  of  subject  and  light  has  been  determined  by 
experiment,  the  results  being  given  in  the  form  of  a  table.  Either 
of  these  methods  may  be  employed  with  satisfaction,  though  both 

[40] 


possess  the  defect  of  failing  in  a  weak  light,  such  as  that  of  even- 
ing. Of  the  former  type  the  best  are  the  actinometers  of  Wynne 
and  Watkins,  and  of  the  second  the  most  convenient  is  the  Well- 
come Exposure-Calculator.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that 
there  are  not  others  equally  good,  the  tables  given  every  month 
in  Photo-Era  being  quite  satisfactory.  In  weak  lights  the  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  determine  as  nearly  as  possible  the  exposure  by 
reference  to  a  table,  then  increase  it  in  accordance  with  the  dictates 
of  previous  experience.  Some  workers  depend  entirely  on  experi- 
ence, but  this  ability  comes  only  after  years  of  practice,  and  even 
then  is  apt  to  lead  to  error  when  the  conditions  are  unusual. 

It  is  absolutely  immaterial  what  developer  is  employed,  so 
far  as  results  are  concerned,  the  only  choice  being  in  the  matter 
of  convenience,  for  any  agent  will  give  exactly  the  same  results 
as  any  other,  provided  it  be  used  correctly.  There  is,  however, 
a  great  choice  in  the  matter  of  ease  of  use,  for  the  less  work  that 
is  involved  in  making  up  solutions,  the  easier  the  work  will  be,  and 
it  is  difficult  enough  at  best.  The  developer  preferably  should  be 
one  of  the  type  that  tends  to  give  soft  results  more  readily  than 
hard,  and  should  keep  well  before  using.  These  qualifications  are 
possessed  in  a  high  degree  by  rodinal  (or  citol,  which  is  the  same 
product  under  another  trade-name),  this  being  a  concentrated 
solution,  to  be  diluted  with  water  for  use;  also  almost  any  of 
the  long-factor  developers  several  of  which  are  obtainable  in  the 
form  of  compressed  tablets,  requiring  only  solution  in  water  to  be 
ready  for  use.  In  developing,  either  the  tray  or  the  tank  may  be 
used,  the  former  being  preferable  if  it  is  desired  to  develop  several 
plates  to  different  degrees  of  contrast,  whereas  if  the  same  quality 
is  wanted  in  all  the  negatives  the  latter  should  be  employed.  If 
developing  by  time,  the  duration  of  development  must  be  varied 
according  to  the  contrast  wanted  in  the  result,  the  contrast  exist- 
ing in  the  subject,  the  temperature  and  concentration  of  the 
solution,  and  the  printing-medium  to  be  employed.  It  will  be 
apparent  that  if  a  certain  degree  of  contrast  is  desired  in  the  print, 
development  must  be  longer  if  the  subject  was  lacking  in  con- 


trast,  and  shorter  if  the  original  was  strong.  Different  printing- 
processes  give  different  contrasts,  and  this  must  also  be  taken 
into  account;  but  all  these  variations  may  be  allowed  for  in 
determining  beforehand  the  time  of  development,  and,  this  having 
been  decided  on,  the  result  can  be  attained  with  much  more  cer- 
tainty and  much  less  risk  of  damage  to  the  negative  than  by  the 
method  of  inspecting  the  plate  at  intervals  during  the  progress  of 
development.  It  may  be  objected  that  the  timing-method  offers 
less  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  judgment  than  does  the  method 
of  inspecting  the  plate,  and  at  the  same  time  renders  the  process 
more  mechanical,  thus  detracting  from  the  freedom  and  spon- 
taneity of  the  result.  Consideration  will  show,  though,  that 
this  is  not  the  case,  the  only  effect  of  using  the  timing-method 
being  to  transfer  the  employment  of  judgment  to  a  sphere  where 
it  may  act  with  more  certainty  than  is  possible  in  the  dim  light  of 
the  darkroom,  whereas  freedom  and  spontaneity  are  out  of  place 
in  the  mechanical  side  of  photography.  They  are,  to  be  sure,  of 
immense  value  —  are,  in  fact,  imperative  —  in  selection  of  sub- 
ject, in  focusing  and  in  the  choice  of  a  printing-medium,  their 
presence  in  these  parts  of  the  work  being  what  saves  it  from 
becoming  a  purely  mechanical  process;  but  they  have  no  place 
in  those  details  of  the  technique  which  can  be  determined  scien- 
tifically. To  develop  by  judgment  —  or,  to  put  it  accurately, 
by  guess  —  is  to  place  oneself  on  a  par  with  a  painter  who,  instead 
of  learning  that  blue  and  yellow,  when  mixed,  give  green,  should 
prefer  to  try  the  effect  of  mixing  various  pigments  until  he  found 
the  right  ones. 

There  is,  at  the  present  time,  a  strong  movement  in  favor  of 
straight  photography,  so  far  as  pictorial  work  is  concerned;  but 
the  writer  does  not  feel  this  idea  to  be  sound.  It  is  admitted 
that  the  admixture  of  photography  and  handwork,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  mixture  is  apparent,  is  a  violation  of  unity  and 
as  such  is  to  be  avoided;  but  it  is  perfectly  true  that  often  the 
desired  effect  cannot  be  obtained  without  personal  intervention, 
and  the  writer  holds  it  to  be  justifiable,  in  such  cases,  to  work  on 

[42] 


either  the  negative  or  the  print,  to  any  extent  that  may  be  neces- 
sary, taking  care  that  the  handwork  does  not  show.  Some 
brief  notes  on  the  methods  of  attaining  this  result  follow. 

If  it  is  desired  to  raise  the  value  of  certain  small  areas,  a  cloth 
may  be  dampened  with  retouching-medium  and  rubbed  over  the 
film  which  gives  it  a  tooth,  so  that  work  can  be  done  with  a  pencil, 
HB  or  B  being  the  most  suitable  quality.  The  best  retouching- 
medium  that  the  writer  knows,  and  which  is  much  better  than 
the  usual  commercial  article,  is  described  in  the  Cramer  dryplate 
manual.  The  formula  is: 

Rosin 1 20  grains 

Turpentine 4  ounces 

It  is  not  necessary  to  use  a  very  high  grade  of  either  ingredient, 
the  ordinary  commercial  article  being  good  enough.  Should  the 
work  not  be  satisfactory,  it  may  be  removed  by  means  of  a  cloth 
wet  with  the  retouching-medium.  If  larger  areas  are  to  be  worked 
over,  or  if  it  is  desired  to  apply  a  greater  amount  of  lead  than  can 
be  deposited  on  the  retouching-medium,  the  back  of  the  plate 
may  be  flowed  with  the  following  solution,  when  work  can  be 
done  on  it  readily  with  either  pencil  or  stump. 

Gum  sandarac 2j  ounces 

Gum  mastic \  ounce 

Ether 24    ounces 

Benzole 12    ounces 

This  formula  also  is  taken  from  the  manual  named  above,  and  is 
an  excellent  one.  Should  any  of  the  solution  get  on  the  film  side 
of  the  negative,  or  should  it  be  desired  to  remove  the  pencil-work, 
it  can  be  done  with  a  cloth  moistened  with  alcohol. 

If  large  areas  are  to  be  reduced  in  value,  the  best  method  is 
to  employ  Farmer's  reducer  with  a  soft  brush,  first  soaking  the 
negative  in  water  for  an  hour  or  so,  then  applying  the  reducer 
locally,  in  very  dilute  form,  rinsing  the  negative  frequently,  and 
bearing  in  mind  that  the  action  of  the  reducer  will  be  slow  at 

[43] 


first,  but  will  become  rapid  as  it  proceeds.  When  it  is  desired  to 
reduce  small  areas,  the  best  plan  is  to  make  a  transparency  on  a 
dryplate,  either  by  projection  or  by  contact,  or,  preferably,  by  the 
carbon  process,  using  the  transparency-tissue  and  transferring  to 
a  fixed  and  hardened  plate,  and  to  do  the  work  on  this  with  a  pencil 
by  one  or  the  other  of  the  methods  outlined  above,  afterward 
making  a  negative  from  this  transparency.  The  use  of  an  etching- 
knife  is  not  recommended,  as  it  is  difficult  to  work  with  such 
delicacy  that  the  means  will  not  be  visible.  For  reducing  density 
on  a  paper  negative,  a  hard  pencil-eraser  is  good,  though  the 
results  from  its  use  on  a  glass  negative  are  not  likely  to  be  very 
satisfactory. 

Any  of  the  methods  suggested  above  can  be  used  equally  well 
on  the  original  negative,  the  intermediate  transparency,  or  the 
enlarged  negative,  so  that  great  control  is  possible  even  without 
resorting  to  any  work  on  the  print.  It  is,  however,  advisable  that 
as  little  work  as  possible  be  done,  the  effect  being  obtained,  so 
far  as  possible,  by  purely  photographic  means,  as  there  is  great 
danger  of  doing  too  much,  while  it  is  not  always  apparent  to  the 
worker  that  he  is  going  so  far  as  to  render  the  mixture  of  pho- 
tography and  handwork  visible. 

In  addition  to  the  above-named  methods,  it  is  also  possible  to 
intensify  either  negative  or  transparency  locally,  using,  preferably, 
some  single-solution  intensifier;  but  the  writer  has  never  felt 
much  interest  in  this  form  of  modification,  as  it  is  not  so  readily 
controllable  as  the  pencil-method. 

In  choosing  a  printing-medium,  the  first  quality  to  be  required 
is  permanence,  for  it  is  assumed  that,  if  the  worker  has  given  time 
and  thought  to  the  production  of  a  work  of  art,  he  will  not  want 
it  to  disappear  in  the  course  of  a  few  years ;  whereas  if  he  sells 
it,  honesty  demands  that  it  be  as  stable  as  possible.  There  are 
certain  printing-papers  which  can  be  depended  on  for  permanence, 
and  others  which  will  give  results  that  are  permanent  if  care  has 
been  taken  in  their  production,  but  not  otherwise,  whereas  some 
are  absolutely  unstable  in  the  best  of  circumstances.  A  black 

[44] 


K 


PLATE  XIV.  — THE   POOL,   SNOW 


and  white  platinum  print  on  linen  paper  or  vellum  may  be  relied 
on  for  permanence,  and  the  same  is  true  of  a  carbon  or  gum  print 
in  a  stable  color,  but  a  gum  print  superposed  on  a  black  platinum 
will  be  durable  in  the  same  circumstances.  Unfortunately,  we 
have  no  means  to  know  what  pigments  are  used  in  making  carbon 
paper;  but  the  various  color-manufacturers  will  furnish  informa- 
tion about  permanent  pigments  for  use  in  the  gum  or  gum-plati- 
num process.  If  mercury  is  used  to  produce  brown  tones  on 
platinum  paper  the  permanence  of  the  print  becomes  doubtful, 
though  a  permanent  warm  black  may  be  obtained  by  using  the 
developer  hot,  this  treatment  also  serving  to  reduce  contrast. 
In  most  cases  the  best  effect  will  be  attained  by  making  the  print 
in  a  warm  or  cold  black  or  a  brown,  other  colors  not  being  desir- 
able, and  these  tones  are  readily  obtained  in  permanent  form  on 
platinum,  carbon,  or  gum  paper,  but  a  stable  warm  brown  may  be 
obtained  on  bromide  paper.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that 
no  black  and  white  print  on  bromide  or  gaslight  paper  can  be 
considered  absolutely  permanent,  despite  the  claims  of  the  manu- 
facturers, and  this  is  true  of  any  color  except  one  that  is  obtained 
by  the  redevelopment  process,  in  which  potassium  ferricyanide, 
potassium  bromide  and  sodium  sulphide,  or  an  equivalent,  are 
used.  Albumen  paper  gives  very  beautiful  results,  especially  in 
the  lower  portion  of  the  scale;  and  if  the  prints  are  properly 
toned,  fixed  and  washed,  they  may  be  relied  on  to  remain  in  good 
condition,  but  a  failure  in  any  of  these  processes  will  result  in 
fugitiveness. 

The  next  important  characteristic  to  be  considered  in  choosing 
a  printing-medium  is  quality,  which  is  appreciated  more  easily 
than  described;  but  it  is  partly  a  question  of  rendering  the  grada- 
tions of  the  negative  throughout  the  scale,  and  partly  a  question 
of  surface-texture.  The  finest  of  all  processes  in  this  respect  is 
photogravure;  but  it  is  a  difficult  and  laborious  one  to  handle, 
and  few  persons  will  be  inclined  to  give  the  time  necessary  to  be- 
come familiar  with  it.  Next  to  this  in  the  matter  of  rendering 
the  gradations  is  carbon,  though  this  fails  somewhat  in  the  lighter 

[45] 


values,  as  it  is  difficult  to  get  absolutely  pure  lights  without  aiding 
development  with  a  brush,  and  has  a  lustre  which  is  not  so  pleasing 
as  the  dull  surface  of  the  former  process.  Platinum  has  a  dull 
surface,  and  the  commercial  papers  render  the  upper  and  middle- 
tones  to  perfection,  but  cannot  give  the  richness  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  scale  that  is  characteristic  of  carbon  and  photogravure. 
The  rendering  of  the  lower  tones  may,  however,  be  improved  by 
making  one's  own  paper  and  coating  and  printing  several  times, 
or,  if  using  the  commercial  papers,  by  diluting  the  developer  with 
an  equal  volume  of  glycerin,  which  slows  development  so  that  it 
is  under  control,  printing  somewhat  deeper  than  otherwise,  and 
arresting  development  before  it  is  complete,  by  means  of  a 
strong  acid-bath  —  one  part  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  thirty  parts 
of  water. 

The  gum-process  is  probably  next  best  to  photogravure  in 
quality,  for  it  renders  the  values  throughout  the  scale  perfectly, 
even  to  the  most  delicate  gradations  in  either  the  higher  or  the 
lower  portions,  and  has  less  lustre  than  carbon.  It  is  not  an  easy 
process  to  work,  by  reason  of  its  flexibility;  but,  once  mastered, 
it  is  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  artist.  The  variant  of  it  known 
as  gum-platinum,  wherein  one  or  more  printings  of  gum  are  super- 
posed on  a  platinum  print,  is  also  of  value,  and  is  easier  to  work 
than  straight  gum. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  earlier  parts  of  this  essay,  it 
follows  that  the  landscape-photographer  who  endeavors  to  arouse 
some  sentiment  in  the  observer  will  work  mainly  in  a  low  key, 
and,  as  pointed  out  above,  the  best  mediums  for  rendering  this 
kind  of  effect  are  gum,  carbon,  gum-platinum  and  photogravure, 
so  the  worker  will  probably  choose  one  or  another  of  these.  It  is 
not  recommended  that  any  one  process  be  adhered  to  exclusively, 
for  each  has  its  good  features ;  but  it  will  be  found  best  to  use  one 
more  than  any  other,  for  only  by  extensive  use  is  familiarity  with 
the  characteristics  of  the  medium  attained. 

It  may  be  well  to  recapitulate  briefly  the  conclusions  we  have 
reached  in  the  course  of  this  essay. 

[46] 


In  the  first  place,  it  was  found  that  the  fundamental  purpose 
of  that  branch  of  landscape-photography  which  can  be  classed  as 
fine  art  is  the  arousing  of  some  sentiment  or  emotion  in  the  ob- 
server, and  that  the  deeper  emotions  are  the  quieter  ones.  It 
was  also  found  that  these  emotions  are  best  aroused  by  prints 
which  represent  quiet  scenes,  especially  those  of  evening,  for 
brilliant  sunlight  and  extreme  darkness  are  less  impressive  than 
the  effect  of  late  afternoon,  when  the  light  has  begun  to  fail  but 
still  retains  strength  enough  to  show  a  certain  amount  of  detail 
in  the  deep  shadows. 

Such  effects  are  rendered  best  on  an  orthochromatic  or  a 
panchromatic  plate,  and  developed  for  only  a  moderate  degree  of 
contrast. 

Due  attention  must  be  paid  to  composition  of  line,  and  this 
is  more  necessary  to  the  photographer  than  to  the  painter,  for 
the  latter  has  the  element  of  color  to  aid  his  arrangement,  so  that 
monochrome  reproductions  of  the  work  of  great  painters  are  not 
necessarily  good  guides  for  the  photographer. 

Good  technique  is  of  the  greatest  importance;  but  undue 
attention  to  technique  will  result  in  loss  of  imaginative  quality,  and 
[this  is  far  more  important  than  technical  excellence,  as  a  picture 
may  be  great  without  the  latter,  but  can  never  be  so  without  the 
former. 

Finally,  it  may  be  added  that  no  one  can  hope  to  attain  pre- 
eminence in  landscape-photography  without  much  hard  work  and 
study;  but  no  one  should  be  discouraged  by  this  fact  from  at- 
tempting it,  for,  even  if  he  fail  to  reach  the  highest  possible  point, 
he  will  find  that  the  pursuit  affords  him,  and  perhaps  his  friends, 
great  pleasure,  together  with  a  not  inconsiderable  amount  of 
physical  benefit. 


[47] 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


APR  2  9  879 


tec.  CIK.    «ttr  0  5  1932 


JUN251982 


HAK24197056 


RECEIVED 


BCD  CIRC  DEfT        OCT       4  '74 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


LD  21A-60m-2,'67 
(H241slO)476B 


V. 


ro  i 


305^20 


o 


OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


